Buenos Aires 2018

About the Central American and Caribbean Games

The Central American and Caribbean Games (CAC) are the oldest continuing regional games. Only the Olympic Games have a longer continuous history.

The first games started in Mexico City, Mexico from October 30 to November 1, with only two hundred and sixty nine (269) athletes from three (3) countries; Mexico, Cuba and Guatemala. There were only nine (9) sports in the first games; athletics, basketball, baseball, diving, fencing, shooting, swimming, tennis, and volleyball. The games were then called the Central American Games; in 1935 their name was changed to Central American and Caribbean Games to reflect expanding participation.

The CAC Games are held every four years and evenly between the Olympic Games. The purpose is to provide a regional championship for countries in Central America and Caribbean. The games are organized by the Central American and Caribbean Games Sport Organization (CASCO- in English). The Organization Deportiva Centro Americana y del Caribe (ODECABE- in Spanish) is recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) through the Pan American Sport Organization (PASO).

There are 31 countries invited by CACSO to participate in the Central American and Caribbean Games. In order to participate in the games, all athletes must entered by their National Olympic Committee (NOC). In the twenty first edition of the games, the 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games was hosted in Puerto Rico and ended on August 1, 2010. There were a total of thirty one (31) countries participating in forty two (42) sports. There were five thousand, two hundred and four (5,204) athletes and officials at these games.

In 1946, the Trinidad and Tobago team did remarkably well at the CAC Games in Baranquilla, Colombia. The team of only sixteen athletes brought home four gold medals, three silver medals and five bronze medals. The sports were Weightlifting, Athletics and Cycling. With the exception of the years 1954 and 1959, we have participated in a total of fifteen games.

The next edition of the Central American and Caribbean Games will be held in Veracruz, Mexico in 2014.